This is an introduction to the theories and methods that are core to historical research. You will study research skills and methods, exploring libraries, sources, archives and treatments of history using case studies. You will analyse the relationships between literary texts, historical documents, and films, as well as scrutinising how events have been recorded, historicised, fictionalised and dramatised.

Study the key themes of the British economic, cultural and political relationships with Italy. You'll examine a range of primary documents, including literature, travel-writing, journalism, and both diplomatic and consular reports. You'll investigate how Britain's interest in the Italian Risorgimento led to a considerable enthusiasm for the unifying of Italy between 1859 and 1870.

You will undertake a sustained piece of research in social history on a topic selected by yourself and involving the use of both primary and secondary sources. You will design, plan, manage and complete a sustained research project, presenting your findings both orally and in writing.

Study the history and historiography of modern technology in societies and cultures under colonial rule. You'll explore the role of technology in imperial rule, attitudes and practices concerning technology and the changes that ensued. You'll gain an understanding of how modern mechanical technologies became everyday goods. You'll also look at how people viewed, used and abused these technologies to understand their role in wider social and cultural change.

Consider the United States (US) as a country shaped by confinement. We'll explore different forms of confinement from enslavement, relocation and internment to incarceration, institutionalisation, and detention. This will enable us to consider how these spaces structure and define life in the US. We'll examine how they began and how they have grown and developed over time, and the ways in which they interact with and inform each other. We'll theorise both the physical and psychological forms of imprisonment that manifest in each space and the ways in which they reflect and reinforce social hierarchies and prejudices. Crucially, alongside this, this module will examine each form of confinement as a space for creativity and cultural expression. We'll explore a range of primary sources including autobiography, podcasts, art, and film, to consider how these spaces construct ideas of community and identity and how cultural tools can be used as a form of resistance. In doing so, the module will analyse the spatial, social and political confinements that have developed throughout US history and the forms of cultural expression used to challenge them in order to question the limitations and possibilities of American freedom.

Bringing together recent research in environmental history and the histories of food and eating, you will look at how food has been grown, transported and consumed in the western world since the Columbian Exchange of 1492.

Explore the history of masculinity and gender history since the 1980s, focusing on 19th and 20th century Britain. You'll consider the big questions that have piqued the interests of educationalists, politicians and social and cultural commentators throughout the period. Notably: what does it mean to be a 'real man' and how has this changed over time? Is there such a thing as a single uniform masculine code of behaviour? And to what extent is masculine identity forged out of a series of economic, social, cultural and psychological crises? Covering the period between 1850 and the turn of the 21st Century, you'll draw historical comparisons with current discussions about a supposed 'crisis of masculinity'. You'll argue that the concept of 'crisis' has always existed in contemporary understandings of hegemonic masculinity.

Drawing on local and national collections, you will discover that studying material culture can illuminate the social and cultural life of the long 18th Century (c.1688/9-1830s).

Examine the social, cultural and political history of Britain in the 'long 1960s' (c. 1956-1974) – the period which saw a 'cultural revolution'. You'll study various forms of cultural production in the context of social and political changes in Britain.

This module considers the United States as a country shaped by confinement. Each week you'll focus on a different form of confinement — enslavement, relocation, internment, incarceration, institutionalisation, and detention. You'll then look at how these spaces structure and define life in the US. You'll examine how they began and how they have grown and developed over time, considering the ways in which they interact with and inform each other. You'll theorise both the physical and psychological forms of imprisonment that manifest in each space and the ways in which they reflect and reinforce social hierarchies and prejudices. Alongside this, you'll examine each form of confinement as a space for creativity and cultural expression. You'll also explore a range of primary sources including autobiography, podcasts, art, and film. This will enable you to study how these spaces construct ideas of community and identity and how cultural tools can be used as a form of resistance. In addition, this module will analyse the spatial, social and political confinements that have developed throughout US history. You'll examine the forms of cultural expression used to challenge these confinements in order to question the limitations and possibilities of American freedom.

Over the last 30 years, there has been an increased interest in life writings, or 'documents of life', which include autobiographies and biographies, diaries, letters, testimonies and oral histories. You will explore questions concerning authenticity, memory, narrative and moral authority and their implications for the use of life writings as historical sources.

You will examine urbanisation and metropolitan cultures of the cities within Europe during the second-half of the 20th Century. We will ask you to consider the relationship between cities and the social, economic, political and cultural policies of local, national and supranational governments and other governing bodies.

Study the emergence of celebrity culture in Europe and North America. You will consider the extent to which modern theories of celebrity can be applied to historic contexts, and we will encourage you to engage with a range of non-traditional source materials, including photographs and other material objects.

Consider journeys, voyages and discoveries as recounted in travel journals, guidebooks, colonial texts, memoirs, fiction, letters and ethnographic studies. You will consider these representations against the backdrop of the histories of travel, tourism and exploration.

Throughout history, as societies have become more organised, so too have their criminals. You will study a range of criminal organisations, exploring the role organised crime has played in both shaping and reacting to the ebb and flow of power and socio-economic development in the modern world.

Examine the changing nature of public history since the mid-20th Century. You will explore specific case studies and learn about the skills and resources used by public historians.

Investigate the limits and possibilities of using history to address contemporary challenges. This module will introduce the different ways that history can be used, ranging from the direct application of historical knowledge to the use of analogies to think about the present. You'll focus primarily on examples drawn from British policymaking and be encouraged to set these in a global context using international examples during your assessment. You'll also explore specific case studies where history has or could be used to enhance decision making. Throughout the module, you'll be encouraged to reflect on the social purpose of historical research and identify transferable skills that will boost your future employability.